Liquid dispensing apparatus



Aug. 9, LOGAN LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed July, 25. 1951 6 i INVENTOR.

Ja'SE/WA. Zoe/w 7 ATTORNEYS.

Patented nee, 193 2 d I V 1 70 9 STATES P T N o-FFI'CE 'Josnrn a. room, or simmer-mm, mssacnusnrrs, sssrenon TO GILBERT e manna mnuraerunme comrm, or were srnmerrnw, massnennsnr'rs, a

conronuronor xnssncnusn'r'rs v v nrenm nrsrnnsme mnm'rus Application an my e5. 1931. Serial No. ssaoez.

This invention relates to improvements in hose contracts, with the result that less liqliquid dispensing apparatus, such for examuid is delivered than is shown on the meter. ple as is used for dispensing gasoline, oil and The invention has for its object the proth lik vision of means,.1ocated between the outlet The invention is more particularly directed of the meter and the inlet end of the hose, to that type of apparatus, known in the trade to prevent the backward surge of liquid as a .meter pump and iilcluding a meter created in the hose, as above described, from interposed in a delivery conduit with some passing back to or through the meter.

suitable means for. forcing liquid there- The invention will be disclosed with ref- 13 through. The delivery conduit usually terh 0 he accompanying drawing, in so minates in a flexible hose, having at its dis- 9h=- charge end a, valved hose nezzle Such noz- Flg. 1 i8 an elevational view, partly in seczle usually has a self-closing valve, which is i n, of a meter pump embodying my invenadapted to be manually opened by means of a Q hand lever. The valve is moved to, and held F g- 2 1S a fragmentary sectional view of as in, closed position by a powerful spring. the hose nozzle; 7

This invention is directed to the provision g- 3 IS a fragmentary sectional view of means for overcoming a certain trouble, ShOWlIlg e 9 1 11 ween the hose and which I have found has been the cause of t fixed p p g 0f the apparatus and showinaccurate measurement in apparatus of the also the prelentatlVe means of y illVeIlgeneral class above desc ibed. The trouble hem; and; v is due to the use'of a flexible hose as a part g- IS a ag e a y Sectional view of the delivery conduit. Without such hose, taken 11 he line 4-4 of Fig. 1. the trouble does notarise. The difliculty in- Referring to this d g, there is wn cs connection with the hose is that it can and F s 1, y y of i ustrative examp e, one

does stretch to a considerable degree under form of water pump'in which my invencertain conditions. It is extensible and contlOn may b em odied. It includes a rotary tractible within appreciable limits and, in a 4 p mp adapted for connection by piping sense, forms an elastic conduit connection beshown in P at With a low level liquid '80 tween the fixed piping'of the apparatus and pply tank and arranged to force the liquid, 86

the hose nozzl With thi diti in lifted from suchtank, through a delivery conmind, it will be a reciated th t if d h du1t,-which includes rigid pipe sections 8 and the fast moving stream of liquid flowing and a flexible hose section 10. Interposed through the hose is suddenly arrested, as by m the delivery conduitisa suitable meter,

'1' a sudden rather than a gradual closing of preferably and as herein indicated of the rethe hose nozzle valve, the momentum of the p y Piston yp The l' g y stream will exert a push on the closed valve inder barrel is shown at 11 and, mounted .on and cause a stretch in the elastic hose. The and above this barrel, is a register including action is essentially that of a liquid hammer. a stationary graduated dial 12 and a movable 40 An abnormally heavy pressure 1s momentariindicator hand 13 adapted to be turned by the '90 1y built up, causing t t hing f th hose reciprocating movement of the piston (not and thereby increasing the volume of its shown) within cylinder 11 by any of the suitliquid containing space. Then this abnormal able and well known means available for the pressure isgradua1lyrelieved and the hose purpose. Such means is arranged to turn contracts, therebyfldeereasing the volume of hand- 13 in the same direction on the upstroke saidspace to normal and resulting in a backas on the downstroke of the piston. This .,ward surge of liquid. A certain part of the characteristic, in somecases', has abearing on liquid, which has passed through the meter the roblem for which this invention ofiers and been measured, is forced back through a so ution, as will appear. On the free end the meter on the. backward surge, when the of the hose 10, is a nozzle 14, having a valve (Fig. 2), normally held closed by a spring 16 and adapted to be opened by a hand lever 17 (Fig. 1), which is pivoted to the nozzle body and engageable with the stem 18 of the valve. The pump is driven by an electric motor 19 which may be controlled in any suitable manner, as by a hand lever 20, adapted to operate a suitable switch, not shown.

The apparatus, above described, may be housed in a casing 21, except for the hose and 20 the end of pipe 9. Usually, however, it is desired tohave a flow indicator interposed in the delivery conduit and, in such cases, the indicator is connected to pipe 9 and the hose 10 is connected to the indicator, as shown. This flow indicator includes a glass cylinder 25, suitably clamped between, and closed at its ends by two end members 26 and 27. Within the cylinder there may be a spinner 28 adapted to be rotated by the liquid. The pipe 9 and hose 10 are connected to the lower end member 27 in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 3. It will be seen that liquid forced by the pump through pipe 9 will enter the glass cylinder 25 by way of a passage 29 and pass out of the cylinder, by way of a central passage 30, into hose 10. Within this passage 30 is a check valve 31, normally held closed by a spring 32 but adapted to open outwardly (in the normal direction of liquld flow) under the pressure built up by pump 6.

It is common in meter dispensing systems of the general character described to provide a relief valve controlled by-pass around pump 6 to prevent the building up of dangerous pressures in the system, when the pump is in operation while the nozzle valve is closed. In this particular case, such provisions happen to be built into the pump itself, as will appear from Fig. 4. The supply pipe 7 delivers liquid into a chamber 33 from which it passes through the wall of a filter 34. Liquid leaves through the upper end of the filter, entering a chamber 35 and then passes into the inlet port 36 of the pump. The outlet port of the pump is-shown at 37, connected to pipe 8. A valve 38, normally held closed by a spring .39, blocks ofi communication between the outlet and inlet ports. \Vhen sufficient pressure is built up in the outlet, say for example 20 pounds per square inch, valve 38 will open and liquid will be by-passed around the pump.

It is also common to provide in the hose nozzle an outwardly opening check valve 40 (Fig. which is normally held closed y 3 spring 41. This valve opens only after a predetermined pressure has been built up in the dispensing system. It prevents the delivery of liquid under lesser pressures, such for example as might be insuflicient to cause accurate measurement of the liquid by the meter. It is often desirable for other reasons to have such a valve close to the delivery end of the hose to prevent any possibility of draining the hose. This check valve is not necessary to, my invention and is shown merely because it forms part of the usual equip ment. It may be omitted, if desired.

My invention is based upon the use of a check valve located in the delivery line somewhere between the outlet of the meter and the inlet of the hose, such for example as the check valve 31. This valve may be used to accomplish some of the work intended to be accomplished by the check valve 40, but it has another and more important purpose which is not and cannot be accom lished by the check valve 40 nor by a checE valve at any other than the location described, i. e., between the outlet of the meter and the inlet of the hose. The valve, thus located, solves a particular problem in the art of meter pumps where, as here, such pumps are equipped with a flexible hose. The root of the trouble is that the hose is extensible to a certain extent and to such an extent as to cause inaccurate registration on the meter dial, under certain conditions of operation of the system.

The condition which causes the most serious trouble, is the one where the operator suddenly closes the hose nozzle valve 15, allowing the full force of the spring 16 to be released at once for action on the valve. The valve closes with a sudden snap and instantly arrests the column of liquid which had theretofore been moving at high velocity through the delivery conduit. The illustrated pump has a capacity of from 16 to 17 gallons per minute and normallydelivers liquid from the nozzle, when its valve is fully open,-at the rate of about 14 gallons per minute under about 10 to 12 pounds pressure. These figures are given to illustrate the point of high velocity and are not to be taken as limitav tions. It will be appreciated that, on the sudden stopping at the nozzle of a column of liquid moving at such velocity, a liquid hammer action is set up. A very high pressure is momentarily built up in the hose,a pressure considerably'in excess of any normal pressure in the system. Theliquid, tending to continue in motion, acts on the closed nozzle valve with a push and this outward push acts on the elastic hose and stretches it. More than the normal volume of liquid will then be contained in the hose. Following this action, the high pressure, momentarily built up in the hose, is relieved by the liquid passing back in so doing, some liquid is expelled therefrom. Thus, a certain amount of liquid which has once passed through the meter and been measured, is subsequently passed back through the meter with the result that the meter reading is inaccurate. It will show a quantity greater than that which has actually been delivered.

In certain kinds of piston meters, the liquid can move back through the valves of the meter without moving the piston of the meter or at least without moving it much. In other types of piston meters, the valve arrangement is such that the backward surge, set up as above described, would have to move the piston in a direction reyerse to that in which it had been moving when the nozzle valve was suddenly closed. Backward movement of .the piston would nevertheless cause forward movement of the indicator hand. Then, there would result a double error in measurement. A"certain quantity of liquid, equal in volume to the increase in volume of the hose caused by its stretching, would thus be measured twice but not, delivered to the customer.

The backward surge may be caused in other ways than by a sudden closing of the outlet valve in the hose nozzle. A quick bending of the hose, while the nozzle valve is closed,

' will tend to create a backward surge and cause a similar trouble although usually not I to such a great degree.

It is perhaps also possible that some elongation of the hose may in some cases be caused due .to the difference in pressures existing What I claim is:

1. In combination, a liquid delivery conduit, a meter interposed therein, a valved nozzle on the delivery end of said conduit,

said conduit including a flexible and somewhat elastic section between said nozzle and meter, which section is extensible and contractible within limits, means for forcing liquid through said conduit and an outwardly-opening, non-return valve located in said conduit between said flexible section and said meter.

2. In combination, a liquid delivery conduit, a meter interposed therein, a nozzle on the discharge end of said conduit, a valve in said nozzle, a hand lever for manually opening said valve, means for automatically and rapidly closing said valve when the hand lever is released, said conduit including a flexible and somewhat elastic section between said nozzle and meter, which section is extensible and contractible within limits, means for forcing liquid through said conduit, and an outwardly-opening, non-return valve located in said conduit between said flexible section and said meter.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed-my signature.

' JOSEPH A. LOGAN.

therein when the nozzle valve is opened and closed. With the nozzle valve closed and the pump in operation, a higher pressure exists than when the nozzle valve is open. That is, the by-pass valve is usually set to open at a pressure higher than the normal pressure needed to force liquid through the delivery conduit. If the difl'erence in pressure is su ficient, some stretching of the hose may result in the interval between the closingof the nozzle valve and the opening of'the by-pass valve. Then, when the bypass valve opens,

the pressure will be relieved and the hose will contract with the result that a backward surge may be set up. This condition is not a bothersome one with the particular pump herein described, but it may possibly result in some troublein other kinds of pumps.

The check valve effectively prevents the backward surge of liquid, caused by any of the conditions above described or otherwise, from forcing liquid back through the meter and from reversely operating the meter with resulting inaccuracies of measurement. I

The invention has been disclosed herein, in

7 an embodiment at present preferred, for illustrative purposes, but the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. 

